There are as many reasons to be thankful as there are numbers of folks giving thanks, but generally, they fall into one of two categories. You can be appreciative of your blessings, all those positives in your life that have lifted it out of the ordinary. Or you can be grateful that things aren’t worse, keeping at bay some negatives that would make this holiday tougher to celebrate.
NBA teams can be classified along the same lines, especially those to whom the first four weeks of the 2016-17 season have brought pleasant surprises or unexpected hiccups. Here is a look at some of the more notable from both categories: those that truly have something to celebrate even though it’s early and those that are fortunate it is, in fact, still early.
EARLY SUCCESSES
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets’ 2-4 skid heading into Wednesday’s game vs. San Antonio had dampened but not totally washed out the good vibrations of 6-1. Kemba Walker has positioned himself among the league’s elite point guards and forward Marvin Williams has had a nice late-career renaissance. But Charlotte’s fortunes have most been tied to the play and lately the availability of center Cody Zeller, who had a net rating of plus-22.4 before injuring his right shoulder against Atlanta and missing two games. Coach Steve Clifford has kept his defensive demands high while getting more efficient offense while losing the likes of Courtney Lee, Al Jefferson and Jeremy Lin.
Chicago Bulls
After missing the playoffs last season, another middling campaign was anticipated based on an excess of mid-range shooters. Adding Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo as pricey free agents looked to be more about buzz than buckets, too, to make up for well-known departees Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. But Wade has taken his Chicago homecoming seriously as a leader, boosting the maturity level of the Bulls’ roster from a year ago and holding open the door for Jimmy Butler to raise his game another notch. Their early 3-point success has regressed, but great rebounding, Robin Lopez’s work down low, Butler’s heroics and Wade’s determination have Chicago angling for the postseason.
Houston Rockets
James Harden couldn’t crack the top six among all-NBA guard selections last season, despite his All-Star scoring achievements (27.4 points per 36 minutes). Now the bearded one is hearing legit-if-early MVP chatter and getting a lot more respect overall for fully blossoming in new coach Mike D’Antoni’s offensive system. Harden is scoring more efficiently, has upped his points production (career-best 28.1 per 36) and been transformed as a creator for others (12.1 assists per 36 vs. 7.1 last season). He’s gotten help from Eric Gordon (a new Sixth Man candidate) and the Rockets’ defense got a boost with guard Patrick Beverley’s return last week.
Los Angeles Clippers
Projected as a “top tier” team, the Clippers have played the league’s top dog role in the season’s first month. Forward Blake Griffin is making up for his embarrassing and curtailed 2015-16 season and his teamwork with point guard Chris Paul is at a peak level after six years together. With Paul on the floor, the Clippers have been nearly 13 points better per 100 possessions offensively and 10.5 better defensively. He’ll turn 32 in May and the urgency in his game has been embraced by L.A.’s whole team. DeAndre Jordan will have coach Glen Rivers lobbying for his guy for Defensive Player again and J.J. Redick is hitting almost half of his 3-pointers. Mo Speights and Raymond Felton, alongside Jamal Crawford, have bolstered the once-thin bench.
TIME ENOUGH TO FIX
Toronto Raptors
Now here’s something to be thankful for: the Raptors won’t have to play Cleveland and Golden State back-to-back anymore this season. That was just one of Toronto’s obstacles, along with the Sacramento end-of-game fiasco, that led to its frustrating 8-6 start. Eschewing coach Dwane Casey’s preachings about defense, the Raptors too often have played at that end as if waiting to get the ball back (or to take it from the bottom of the net) to rev up their high-octane offense. Opponents are hitting nearly 35 percent of their 3-pointers against Toronto, which has caught itself standing around too much (28th in assists) waiting for DeMar DeRozan or Kyle Lowry to manufacture points.
Washington Wizards
Having played the coach card, replacing Randy Wittman with Scott Brooks, the Wizards were supposed to accept the challenge to their best players and improve on their 41-41 mark of last season. Instead, they won just four of their first 13 games, underperforming on both ends while suffering some of the league’s biggest drop-offs when reserves replaced starters. John Wall and Bradley Beal missed a few games and losing Ian Mahinmi’s defense since preseason hurt. But the Wall-Beal backcourt is overdue after years of promise and tease, and tightly clutching owner Ted Leonsis’ wallet last summer left Washington with what center Marcin Gortat openly labeled “one of the worst” benches in the league.
Minnesota Timberwolves
It wasn’t expected to happen overnight, not with a bevy of 21-year-olds in the lineup. But the Wolves have squandered enough fat second-half leads to suggest that any big leap in the West standings will have to wait another year. Big man Karl Anthony-Towns has been as exciting in his second season but wing Andrew Wiggins still doesn’t have every-night impact and Ricky Rubio at point guard has been as polarizing as ever, separating those who value his defense and passing from those who are tired of waiting for Rubio’s jump shot and clamor for unseasoned rookie Kris Dunn. For coach/POBO Tom Thibodeau, the best thing about young players is they’ll get older.
Portland Trail Blazers
Based on their 17-11 record after the All-Star break last season and push into the Western Conference semifinals, the Trail Blazers’ expectations were a lot higher than a .500 start. Defensively, Portland has been a mess, getting outscored both from the field and from the foul line. The Blazers had fallen in both offensive (108.8 to 107.9) and defensive (108.0 to 111.3) ratings and committing big money to the likes of Evan Turner, Allen Crabbe and Meyers Leonard hasn’t translated into better play or better chemistry than last season’s overachievers produced.
Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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